Potlatch: A Game About Economics

Potlatch, the game, is a strategic, educational card game based on indigenous philosophies. It is designed to meet Washington's K-12 educational standards for teaching about native history, economics, culture, and government. The game was developed as a community effort with local elders and language experts. The game is written in both English and Lushootseed, the indigenous language of the Salish Pacific Northwest. Game mechanics are based on sharing resources to meet other players’ needs for food, materials, technology, and knowledge. This is a collaborative game where there is not one winner. Success is determined by whether or not all houses have their resource needs met by the end of the game. The game is named for the Potlatch, which is a ceremonial distribution and re-distribution of resources, property, food, knowledge, and wealth with the purpose of affirming social status via the historic economic systems of subsistence, prestige, and sharing. Potlatching is practiced by indigenous peoples of the Pacific NW coast of the U.S. and Canada. Historically it supported a large socio-economic system to maintain a high level of food production and to equalize food accessibility. Individuals, families, or communities host potlatches and planning takes a year or more. Skagit elder and historian, Vi Hilbert, wrote “Public acts of distributing valuables to guests were the ultimate confirmation of a host’s achievements and personal high-status in their family and community.”